Your Friends and Family Does Their Social Status Matter?

Young people rarely give a second thought to the social status of their friends and family or financial wealth when choosing new friends.

However as we grow older we start to notice things like differences in our family and friends social standing and our thoughts begin to change.

The truth though is that while having very rich friends or very poor friends as a child may not have made a difference, when we get
older it can create all kinds of problems if we let it. Unfortunately, most people continually compare themselves to their acquaintances and that ends up affecting our opinions of ourselves and others.

Social Status of your Your Friends and Family

When I choose my friends it's based on compatibility. I am not a very trusting person in general so when making friends there is a long road before the bond is actually there. That road doesn't look at social status or wealth. It looks at honesty and loyalty. You can be wealthy and still be a liar and a back stabber.

I don't look up at people for their "value" whether it be the money they had or anything else

Growing up in my house, we were middle class. I had rich friends and family relationships and poor friends and family relationships, it didn't matter. I noticed as I got older, it mattered to some of the people I knew. The wealthier kids started distancing themselves and forming their own little clicks. I am sure there was a lot of pressure at home by their families for them to conform to the social hierarchy of things.

I began to realize that although we were far from poor, my family didn't measure up. To some of my so-called friends it was my Italian background that pushed me out of the WASP (white Anglo Sexton protestant) crowd. To others it was other family members of mine who that weren't desirable, so I got labeled just for being related.

When I went out into the workforce I found that it tended to be much the same there. The only time the corporate big-wigs would mingle amongst the lower employees was at the Company Christmas party and even then they kept a safe distance. I have always known that I am a blue-collar girl and I am proud of it. I am not rich, although years ago I had married into money. Most people I knew thought it was going to change me. I surprised them all very much.

My financial gain didn't change who I truly was. I was still that ever loyal friend who would be the one you would call when your car broke down 2 hours away at 3am. I always came. Even when I had money and could have sent you AAA, I still got out of bed and came myself to get you.

Must we only make friends within our social class or people with the same level of wealth?

I know that my father is a very well respected man in the community I grew up in. He earned every ounce of that respect by being someone you could trust. He didn't have to throw money around to make people like him. He just treated everyone the way he wanted to be treated and hoped that he got that respect back from atleast half of the people he knew. He taught me well.

I am now married again to a man I truly love. We are broke most of the time and most of our friends are broke too but, we're happy. So, even after 40 years wealth and social status are still the way some people pick their friends. I would have thought by now that times would have changed but, the song remains the same.

It's almost a form of discrimination when you choose your friends based on finances or social status. You never really give anyone a fair chance. I bet some people would be truly astonished if they would just for one day try to meet someone new and get to know them regardless of wealth or status, who knows the guy who carries your groceries to you car today could have a child who might save your life many years down the road. Times are changing ever so slowly, hopefully people are too.

Submitted by Guest

For instance if you are poor does that mean you cannot develop a deep friendship with someone wealthy? Or let say you are wealthy must you choose and associate only with people of your own class and level of wealth?

In truth, friendship is an emotional bond and does not depend at all upon external factors like money and status or pressure from other friends and family members.

In a practical way
though, the disparity in wealth can even be a beneficial thing because when you associate with people who are more successful, it uplifts you and compels you
to become successful as well. How about a free family and friend search?

Look at it this way, if wealth and social status were a requirement for true friendships then rich people would all be good friends and poor people would be
the best of friends. But we can see that is not so.

Friendship is based entirely upon emotion and if the attachment is strong enough, then money and status will not influence it.

However, member of family and friends must be able to overlook the differences that may exist between family and friends and allow the friendship to flourish. If one or the other begins to be uncomfortable with the friendship because of such issues, it should be discussed and resolved early on because if it is not the friendship could die.

Of course there will be plenty of pressure and concern exerted on the relationship from family members and other friends, but the good news is that a strong friendship can survive anything if the bond is strong enough. A weak friendship will die easily when there is strife from outside forces including friends and family.

Well just my two cents, what do you think?

Social Status of Friends and Family - American Society

"Conventional wisdom indicates that America is a classless society. All are equal with equal rights, opportunities, and responsibilities."

After being born in the United States and living here for the past 54 years, I have observed that this is far from the truth. If you look at any city in this country, you will see that America's social strata is a very significant basis for society divided into just a few classes.

There are people that are extremely wealthy -- the top 5% that the news media comments on that owns the corporations and essentially serves as a ruling class. There is a middle group which is predominantly Caucasian and manages these corporate entities. These are the Ivy League graduates who have gone to private school and excellent private colleges and universities and then move on to the big cities and manage the big companies. The remaining group consists of the regular workers who symbolically work, and probably shop, at Walmart.

My personal experience has run a little different from this. I grew up in a middle class family where my mother worked part-time as a piano teacher and my father was a college professor, not especially well paid. We were a large family and money was always a struggle.

Social status of friends and family an observation on American-society

There is some social mobility in American society so that if you are well-educated and have good connections, your life can become somewhat better than average. Although my parents were always skimping and savings, they did own a house and they also realized that education was extremely important if their children were to become better off than they were. Three of the five children, including me, went to private school for high school

This came about as a result of my parents scrimping and saving for their offspring's education rather than having a new car, taking wonderful family vacations, or having luxury items in the home. Four of the five children went to excellent colleges from UCLA to Harvard with the fifth child attending an innovative computer programming school. We were somewhat financially deprived in our day to day existence, but good planning and lots of love made up for this.

This focus on education allowed all of us children to connect with other friends and family acquaintances who came from a better social class and consequently provided greater opportunities through educational exposure that surpassed what would have been available in public school.

No, none of us really moved ahead of our class, but exposure to a better social class and status opened some doors that led at very least to a better life or at least one that was more fulfilling than a career at the local Walmart. There is some room for social movement in American society.

Submitted by a visitor to this site

Will the social status of your friends and family affect your friendship?

Will the social status of your friends and family affect the kind of friends you choose and the type of relationships you will develop, keep and nurture both in the short and long term? Use the form below to share your views:

Does the Social Status of Your Friends and Family Matter

When making new friends, does the social status of their family and friends matter and influence you in your decision making process as to whether you choose and keep them as your friends as well? Share your thoughts below:

Enter Your Title Here

To share your thoughts and comments, start typing into the form below [ ? ]

Your story will appear on a Web page exactly the way you enter it here. You can wrap a word in square brackets to make it appear bold. For example [my story] would show as my story on the Web page containing your story.

TIP: Since most people scan Web pages, include your best thoughts in your first paragraph.

Friendship Times Are Changing Not rated yetIt is an interesting and though provoking article. I believe that it is no longer true that when we are small kids we don’t care about the social setup …

Social Status Depends on the Person Not rated yetI was born into a very poor family where money was only an issue to survive. I moved to England from the Philippines because my mother married a well off …

Sometimes, it is just out of our hands Not rated yetAs much as I would like to say that social status and wealth do not encourage or discourage the type of friends we make or that they don't put a strain …

Friendship is Above Fortune Not rated yetWell in my opinion, you never make friends; you just come across them. When there is an active effort involved in building a relationship, it tends to …

Follow Your Heart or Follow Your Head? Not rated yetIn an ideal world, social status would be of little importance and people would concentrate simply on forming close bonds based on compatibility of personalities. …

Nothing Matters in Friendship Not rated yet Friendship is purest of all if its true.
At same time we cannot figure out whether its true or not, its all up to our heart which makes it pure and …

Social Status is a Matter of Circumstance Not rated yetAll things being equal, I do not think a person's status matters much in whether or not you have a close relationship with them. However, we do not live …

A Pure Bond Called Friendship Not rated yetA friend is someone who is trustworthy, faithful and on whom we have full confidence. He is the one who calls spade a spade and does not say sugarcoated …

Sincerity and Love is the Key Not rated yetFriendship is a magical tie between two hearts. If social status and financial well-being is a barrier in this relationship it will not be a true friendship. …

Is Social Status and Wealth Irrelevant? Not rated yetI want to believe social status and wealth are irrelevant in making friendships. I like to think I am above this kind of prejudiced approach to relationships. …

Birds of a Feather Flock Together Not rated yetI believe that whether we intend too or not we all tend too end up being of the friends with those in same socioeconomic status that that we ourselves …

This is Not a Perfect World Not rated yetThings like physical appearance, age, race, wealth, social status... SHOULD not matter when meeting someone - those are all "material" or outside things …

Silver Spoons or Plastic Spoons? Not rated yet Silver Spoons or Plastic Spoons? As long as we make good dinner company!
Circumstantially, differences in societal and financial status between …

Maintain a Balance in the Relationship Not rated yetMany times we are friends with someone because we have similar interests. People who are able to socialize and spend time together are able to form a stronger …

Low Income Class Vs High Income Class Not rated yetI wish I could say that social class doesn't matter at all, but it does. I am on the opposite side of the situation though. My family is lower income and …

When Social Status Matters Not rated yetIn general, I tend to believe that I could be friends with anybody, no matter their social status.
If I thought of myself as somebody who could not …